Taylor Farms announced the indefinite withdrawal of all its iceberg lettuce from central Mexico after it was linked to a parasite outbreak that caused thousands of diarrhea cases across several US states. The FDA identified a single supplier that served Taco Bell restaurants. The company stated that no other products are affected.
The US Food and Drug Administration traced the Cyclospora outbreak to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell. One thousand six hundred forty-four laboratory-confirmed cases were reported across 34 states, with Michigan recording more than four thousand three hundred infections.
Taylor Farms stated that its Mexican subsidiary is voluntarily withdrawing the product based on FDA data. “We have withdrawn all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely,” the company said, noting that one independent farm accounts for less than one percent of the total US supply.
Taco Bell voluntarily removed the lettuce in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, and excluded the supplier from its nationwide supply chain. The illness does not spread person to person and symptoms can appear up to two weeks after consumption.
